Page 299 - 2018 Hong Kong Important Chieese Art

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PROPERTY FROM A SWISS PRIVATE COLLECTION 十四世紀 尼泊爾鎏金銅文殊菩薩坐像
A FINELY CAST GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF
MANJUSHRI
NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY
seated in vajraparyankasana atop a double lotus pedestal,
the two hands raised in vitarkamudra before the chest, with
uptala lotuses rising from the elbows supporting a blade and
a book respectively, wearing a dhoti incised with foliate bands
and further embellished with beaded jewellery, the face with a
benevolent expression, crowned with a five-leaf diadem before
a high chignon
11.3 cm, 4½ in.
HK$ 200,000-300,000
US$ 25,500-38,300

This sensitively cast gilt-bronze figure of Manjushri
demonstrates classical Newari style with its use of luxuriant
gilding and decorative stone and inlay. Sculptures of this form
and quality were also highly influential on bronze sculptures
of the Yuan dynasty. Compare the Manjusri dated to the 9th
year of the Dade period (1305) from the Qing court collection
and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of
Treasures of the Palace Museum. Buddhist Statues of Tibet,
Hong Kong, 1995, p. 220, pl. 209.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 297